Race Report - Rounds 1 & 2 - 2004 Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge - Club Racing Series'

The first overseas rounds of the 2005 PMFC Championship took place at Zolder on the weekend of 24-26 June. The circuit lies in the wooded Flemish speaking area of Belgium just south of the Netherlands and within easy reach – two hours drive given good traffic conditions – of the Channel ports. The meeting was a joint production between the ADAC and the Dürener Motorsport Club with whom we have very good relations.

Of the two principal Belgian circuits, whereas Spa-Francorchamps (where we race later in the season) has majestic hills and swoops, Zolder is an essentially flat track. However, it embodies a number of unique and challenging features which make it liked by most drivers. Circuit length is just under 4km – about the length of the long circuit at Donington.

Saturday’s PMFC race was the last on Saturday’s programme. The sun still baked the circuit and cockpit conditions would be almost unbearable at the end of the 12 laps. All the cars seemed to be in ‘go’ order although despite much effort with the SD2 systems analyser, Graham Reeder’s ABS refused to function.

Race One

The cars were assembled in grid order at the end of the pit lane and, after following the Course car for the best part of one lap, the red lights were extinguished at the start of the pits straight and the race was on.

Culver went into an immediate lead that he was to build on throughout the race. Behind, for the first two laps, Reeder gamely held on to 2nd spot for a couple of laps before brake locking and an inability to see which gear he was in, allowed Riley to get past. Meanwhile, in the 'C' class, Witt was flying. Revelling in a car which now seemed to be working properly, he started to haul in the troubled Reeder 360. Furness, a couple of seconds a lap slower, was enjoying an increasing lead over Mike Reeder.

The main interest in the race was then the reducing gap in the battle for third overall. With one lap remaining the valiant Gamski managed to squeeze past the 360 under braking for the tight Bolderbergbocht, a corner of rather more than 90°, and, given reasonable luck, he would hold on to his advantage to the end. It wasn’t to be. At the very same corner on the very last lap, he outbraked himself on the approach, got all out of shape and a surprised but delighted Reeder grabbed the place back to cross the finish line less than a second ahead, claiming third overall.

Witt had his class win as a just reward, with Mike Furness a competent second. Although last to finish, Mike Reeder had driven a courageous race with severe back pain. At the end he had to be assisted out of his cockpit and he laid himself out flat on the pitbox floor for a time to recover.

Karin Kölzer, the secretary of the organising club, presented the handsome trophies on the podium – with the small entry there was a cup for everybody who had taken part!

Race Two

Our second race of the weekend was the first event on Sunday morning, at 10.50, allowing everyone who wished to catch a ferry plenty of time to do so. The weather was a little cooler than the oven-like temperatures of Saturday, which made cockpit conditions more bearable. It turned out to be a re-run of the previous day’s race, with Culver leading the rolling start from pole and really having no opposition from there on.

Riley was the quickest of the rest, with Graham Reeder’s non-ABS car not in contention. In the ‘C’ group, Furness went off at a fair lick into the lead (Gamski was at the back of the grid having failed to record a time in Q2) but by lap 2 was passed as the cars went through the fast Sterrenwacht-Bocht at the end of the pits straight. A little spin at the same corner a lap later ended any challenge he may have mounted on Gamski. However, he managed to keep ahead of Mike Reeder, who drove more competitively after making a good recovery from his physical problems of the previous day.

A fresh set of cups were presented on the podium to the valiant six drivers and later, Anne Swift handed the Wilkinson Driver of the Meeting to Witt Gamski in recognition of his outstanding drive in Saturday’s race.

So how do we sum up the Zolder expedition? There was no doubt at all that all those who had taken part had enjoyed themselves enormously. The weather had been kind even though the heat was quite searing. And the organisation had been efficient but friendly.

Of course we really needed three times as many Ferraris on the grid to do the event justice and competitors will have to decide whether they really want to race overseas because if they do they will have to turn out in numbers that make the events financially viable.